My new lovebirds

[icygirl]

Just picked these guys up yesterday off of craigslist. They aren't tame at all... but it will give me a chance to work on my bird skills. I am trying to be an exotics vet someday after all.

They are brother and sister and completely adorable as you can see. I'm just hoping that I can eventually tame them (they're 8 months old, hopefully that isn't too old).

Thanks for looking

[pythontricker]

I used to have a love bird just like that. But she had yellow fethers instead of green. So cute. Mine flew away because my dad left the door open. I love those things.

[Mindibun]

Speaking from years of experience with birds, if you keep two lovebirds together (brother and sister or otherwise) they wont want anything to do with you. Lovebirds are pretty aggressive by nature so when you put two together it doubles the fight response because they want to be left to each other.

They can be great birds when tame but they take a lot of socialization.

[Kara]

Speaking from years of experience with birds, if you keep two lovebirds together (brother and sister or otherwise) they wont want anything to do with you. Lovebirds are pretty aggressive by nature so when you put two together it doubles the fight response because they want to be left to each other.

They can be great birds when tame but they take a lot of socialization.

EXCELLENT advice!!!

Those birds are likely already bonded to each other, and it's going to be very difficult to break that bond, especially if they are still able to interact on a regular basis. In the interim, any splitting-up-and-handling that you do may be quite stressful for both of them.

If you want a friendly lovebird, starting with a single, handfed juvenile is your best bet.

Beautiful birds...good luck with them!

[icygirl]

Speaking from years of experience with birds, if you keep two lovebirds together (brother and sister or otherwise) they wont want anything to do with you. Lovebirds are pretty aggressive by nature so when you put two together it doubles the fight response because they want to be left to each other.

They can be great birds when tame but they take a lot of socialization.

Yup, I've definitely heard about the fact that if you want it to bond with you, you shouldn't have two. Their previous owner was the one who put them together; she also said she "didn't handle them much" as babies, unfortunately. They are sort of a project for me now, and I'm hoping to beat the odds and get them to socialize with me. I didn't get these birds expecting to have an instant "shoulder bird", so even if they turn out to completely hate me forever, I'll still love them anyways. I figure if I can't ever get them to come out safely, they will be more of a "watch only" bird like canaries.

I have already got them to "blink" with me and have a responsive chirping session with me, so that's a decent start.

Anyways wish me luck

[icygirl]

I had another thought... Do you think it would be a better idea to separate them now, before they get any older? Or is that just asking for more trouble? I know a guy who might be interested in keeping one of them. But I don't want to traumatize them for life, either.

[BulldogBalls]

Yes, great advice and I third. IMO, I'd separate them now. The sooner, the easier. If you are worried about trauma.. no matter when you do it it has the potential to be traumatic for a while. The younger is generally the better though if you have the chance to do it gradually I would recommend that first. Separate cages next to each other, then move them further apart over several days until they are in separate rooms. I did this with a pair of pacific parotlets and 2 pairs of green cheek conures. They are easier to tame once separated but you do have some work on your hands. At least they are not big enough to do serious damage.. but it does hurt!

I love lovebirds! I hope to get a white necked raven within a few years. I also love Eclectus parrots amd B+G macaws. Nice looking pair a good find, good luck with them!

[icygirl]

I'm having trouble deciding on whether to separate them. I've never owned loves before, but it seems to me that they're not really that bonded yet. They do sit next to each other often, but they also squawk and bite and bicker at each other quite a bit.

Also these guys are parent raised, so I pretty much have everything going against my success. Hahh... but I'm trying to be optimistic!

I'm not afraid to get bitten. I worked at a pet store for two years and took care of the birds on a semi-regular basis. It hurts but ya just gotta deal with it or they learn that biting works in getting what they want